


A Friendly Match

by Pidgeapodge



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Cute, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Pai Sho, Part-time job, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25055182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pidgeapodge/pseuds/Pidgeapodge
Summary: At the Jasmine Dragon, Jin finishes up her interview to be a waitress there. She runs into Suki and Sokka, and is invited to play a friendly match of Pai Sho.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	A Friendly Match

Suki grinned and placed her final Pai Sho tile into position. "I win!"

Sokka groaned and let his head thump onto the table. "Yeah, you win again."

"Oh, come on Sokka, don't feel bad!" said Suki.

"But you always win!"

"I've had years to practice Pai Sho on Kyoshi Island. You were busy looking after your whole tribe!"

"But still…" Sokka looked up at Suki with pouty Momo eyes. Suki grinned in response.

"But still, you managed to put together and execute the plan to take down the airships on the Day of Sozin's Comet. There were so many variables that you couldn't control, and you still pulled it off! That's much more impressive than being a Pai Sho master."

Sokka's mouth quirked upward. "Thanks, Suki."

Suki reached over the Pai Sho board and took Sokka's hand in hers. "Wanna go again?"

Sokka shook his head. "I think I'm done for today. You already beat me three times in a row."

The door to the kitchens of the Jasmine Dragon swung open, and out came a girl who looked to be about sixteen years old walking with Iroh. She was cute, with a round face, tan skin, and large, expressive hazel eyes. Her dark brown hair was done in two long braids that came down the front of her shoulders, while messier bangs framed her face. She wore a simple green dress, which looked somewhat out of place in the fancy Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se.

The girl's face was lit with a radiant smile. "Thank you so much, Mr. Mushi! I'm so excited to start!"

Iroh nodded, eyes closed and a serene look on his face. "I'd be happy to have you on my staff. Make sure to be here tomorrow one hour before noon, so I can acquaint you with everything you need. And please, just call me Mushi. No need to be so formal!"

As he escorted the girl to the exit, he noticed Sokka and Suki and went over to them.

"Ah, Sokka, Suki! Enjoying a game of Pai Sho, I see?"

"She is," Sokka said glumly, gesturing at Suki with his thumb.

Iroh laughed. "Don't worry. It took me many years of practice to become good at Pai Sho. It helps to think of the board as a battlefield, and your pieces as your soldiers."

Sokka nodded, looking back at the board. Suki glanced at the girl next to Iroh. The girl had her hands over her mouth, and her eyes were wide with… admiration? She looked starstruck.

Iroh noticed Suki's gaze, and promptly pushed the girl towards their table. "Sokka, Suki, this is Jin. She is a friend of mine from back when I worked in the Lower Ring. Jin, this is Suki and Sokka."

Jin folded her hands in front of her and bowed. "Suki, Sokka, it's… it's an honor! Did you really help the Avatar defeat the Fire Lord a few months ago?"

Suki and Sokka shot each other a glance, grinning. "Why yes, yes we did," said Sokka.

"It was a team effort," said Suki. "Sokka, Toph, and I took down the Fire Nation airships while Aang went after the Fire Lord directly. Prince Zuko and Katara went to the Fire Nation Capital to confront Azula, so that she couldn't claim the throne once Ozai was defeated."

"Wow!" Jin looked even more starstruck than before. "It's so cool to be meeting you guys! I never thought I would meet a famous person before, let alone two at once!"

Suki and Sokka both glanced at Iroh, who smiled knowingly from slightly behind Jin. He gave them a wink and held his finger to his lips.

The meaning was obvious. Even though Iroh was a famous general even before Ozai's defeat, and despite the fact that he led the effort to retake Ba Sing Se on the Day of the Comet, he still went by the alias "Mushi" in Ba Sing Se. Few people, such as the Earth King and Team Avatar, knew his true identity, in no small part because the name of "General Iroh" was still associated with the Siege of Ba Sing Se years before. The name still held a bad taste to many people, and in a city filled with refugees from the Fire Nation, Iroh thought it prudent to go by a pseudonym for safety's sake. One could only imagine the reaction of his neighbors if they found out that the good-humored, mild-mannered, tea-loving old man running the city's most popular tea shop was actually the fearsome Dragon of the West.

"Now that people are freer to move between the levels of Ba Sing Se, Jin here is being hired at my shop!" said Iroh. "Tomorrow will be her first day!"

"Are you a big tea drinker, Jin?" asked Suki.

"Oh, well, I do really enjoy tea. It's very calming." Jin looked at Iroh. "Mushi here makes the best tea. When he left, the old tea shop in the Lower Ring just wasn't the same."

Suki smiled. It was an objective fact that Iroh made the best tea.

"I seem to recall another reason you would come to the old tea shop every day," said Iroh.

Jin blushed and gave Iroh a side-eyed glance. "Mushi!"

"What was this reason?" asked Sokka.

"Well… I guess a _small_ reason was to see Mushi's nephew, Lee…" Jin looked towards the ground.

Sokka's jaw dropped. He pointed to Iroh. " _His_ nephew? The one with the scar?"

Jin's eyes twinkled as she snapped her head up to look at Sokka. "You know Lee?"

Sokka coughed. "Um, yeah, I've met him."

"I just thought that he was kind of handsome, and that his scar made him look so cool and mysterious… We only went on one date though—"

"Wait, what? Zu— _Lee_ —went on a date with you?"

Jin arched an eyebrow. "You don't think I could go on a date with him?"

"No, I mean, I'm surprised that Zu—Lee—would go on a date at all. He's always so grumpy, you know."

Jin's face softened as she chuckled. "I guess that was part of the appeal."

"Mushi, can I have some help back here?" asked one of the waiters from the kitchen.

Iroh turned to his friends. "It was wonderful seeing you, but I'm afraid I must get back to work now. Jin, I will see you tomorrow. All of you, have a pleasant day!" He waved goodbye as he headed back towards the kitchen.

Suki waved at Iroh and turned back to Jin. "Say, Jin, would you like to play a game of Pai Sho with me?"

Jin's eyes couldn't have been rounder. "Really? Me? With you?"

"Be warned, she's really good," Sokka said. He got up from his seat and moved around the table to stand behind Suki.

"Come on, just a friendly match!"

"Sure! Oh, this is awesome!" said Jin as she sat down in the chair that Sokka was previously using. Together, she and Suki reclaimed their tiles and reset the board. Jin took the tiles with the red background, while Suki took the tiles with the white background.

"The guest goes first," said Suki, gesturing to Jin to make her move.

Jin took a Red Rhododendron tile and placed it in the gate closest to her on the board. Suki took a White Chrysanthemum tile and placed it in her gate. Jin moved her Rhododendron four spaces forward and one space over from the gate. Suki made her move, and the game was on.

After a few moves back and forth, Suki spoke up. "So, I'm curious… how did your date with Lee go?"

Jin blushed and looked up at Suki, who was still considering her next move. Suki paused her consideration for a second and met Jin's gaze.

"I'm just curious. The only girl I've seen Lee go out with was just as grumpy as him, if not more so."

"Oh, well, it was okay. We went to eat dinner, and he told me that he and Mushi were circus performers. I think he was lying though, he couldn't juggle."

Suki and Sokka laughed at that. Suki placed a tile down and Jin began looking for another opening.

"That must have been a sight."

"He dropped everything I threw at him!" Jin laughed. She moved another tile on the board in between two of Suki's own, cutting off the "harmony" connection between them.

"Was he very talkative?"

Jin shook her head. "He was pretty quiet. And the few times he did say something, he was very awkward. Like commenting on my appetite, 'for a girl.'"

Suki cringed. "Wow, he really was always that socially inept," she said as she placed another tile in the gate.

"Yeah, he was really awkward and shy, but I thought that was cute! I even took him to the Firelight Fountain!" Jin moved her White Jade tile next to a Red Rose tile, creating a harmony.

"The Firelight Fountain?" asked Suki, raising an eyebrow.

"It's the most romantic place in the Lower Ring! My parents used to meet there all the time when they were younger. The way the lanterns' glow reflects off the water in the fountain is so beautiful! Anyway, when Lee and I arrived there that night, it wasn't lit. And then he did the sweetest thing!"

"What?" asked Suki. She and Sokka both leaned forward, eager to hear what happened.

Jin smiled and looked around, making sure no one would overhear. She leaned closer to Suki and said in a low voice, "I think Lee and his uncle are from the Fire Nation."

Suki and Sokka gasped and glanced at each other, but Jin held her hands up. Had Jin guessed Zuko and Iroh's true identities?

"Wait, wait, listen! The reason I think that is because Lee told me to close my eyes. I did. I heard some whooshing, and when he told me to open my eyes just a few seconds later, every lantern was suddenly lit! I don't know how he could have done that without firebending!"

Suki and Sokka shared another look. "Is that why you never had a second date?" asked Sokka.

Jin cocked her head. "What?"

"Because Zu—Lee—is Fire Nation?"

Jin's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, no, of course not! I thought it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me! I mean, the fact that he would risk exposure and arrest from the Dai Li, just to make me happy, is so romantic!" Jin blushed a little more and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. "I actually tried to kiss him after he did that. On the first attempt he gave me a coupon, but on the second attempt, I told him to close his eyes, and I managed to kiss him that time!"

Jin glanced up at Suki and Sokka. They looked equal parts surprised and excited.

"What happened then?" asked Suki.

"Well, he kind of kissed me back, but then he suddenly broke away. He said things were complicated, and then he ran off."

Immediately, Suki and Sokka frowned.

"He just left you alone?" asked Sokka.

Jin nodded. "I didn't see him after that until the coup happened. One day I saw him at the Firelight Fountain with a girl. She was tall, and pale, and really pretty in, like, an intimidating way, if that makes sense. He seemed pretty comfortable with her, and he said she was a knife-thrower in the circus he was from. It was obvious that they liked each other and that they had a history, so, yeah." Jin shrugged and pouted at the table.

"Next time I see him, I'm gonna punch him," said Sokka.

Jin looked up and held up her hands. "Oh, no! Please, don't do that! I don't think he was trying to hurt my feelings, I felt like he was just awkward and confused. I'm over it anyway, it's fine. Please don't hurt him!"

Sokka rubbed his chin. "Hm. Alright, if you say so."

Jin began fidgeting with her hands. "Honestly, I just hope he's doing alright. I haven't seen him since then. When I found out Mushi was in the Upper Ring, I came to make sure he and Lee were all right. Mushi told me that Lee was fine, but that he left Ba Sing Se."

"Is that why you got a job here? To see Lee again?"

Jin shook her head. "Nah. Mostly to hang out with Mushi. He's such a kind man, and since his nephew's not here, I thought someone should be around to look after him. Also, there still aren't many opportunities for Lower Ringers to visit the Upper Ring, so that's pretty cool."

Suki nodded. "I'm really glad we got to meet you. You seem like a very nice person!"

"I just can't believe I'm really playing Pai Sho with you guys!"

"Hopefully, we'll have many opportunities to play in the future, too! It's your turn, by the way."

Jin looked at the board, confused. "I thought it was your turn."

Suki squinted at the board. "I'm pretty sure it was your turn… unless… wait…" She turned to look at Sokka. "Who went last? Jin or me?"

Sokka shrugged. "I have no idea. I was too distracted by the story."

Jin and Suki looked at each other, then laughed.

"I guess we'll call this a draw?" asked Jin.

"Sounds great to me," said Suki. She reached over the table and shook Jin's hand once.

Jin glanced over to the window. The sun was getting lower in the sky. "I'd love to stay, but I should get home soon. I don't want my parents to worry."

Suki waved to Jin. "It was really nice meeting you. See you tomorrow, hopefully!"

"Let me know if you change your mind about letting me punch Lee," said Sokka.

Jin waved goodbye and left the Jasmine Dragon. As she began to walk home, she took a deep breath. Her parents weren't going to believe this!

**Author's Note:**

> Jin was honestly such a cutie, and I enjoyed her short appearance in the show. I thought it would be appropriate to have her work in the Jasmine Dragon after the war, and I thought Iroh would be happy to hire her (his most loyal customer, after all)!
> 
> The Pai Sho terms were taken from Skud Pai Sho. Go ahead and Google it, they made an online Pai Sho game complete with different sets of rules and such that you can try playing yourself, either against a computer or against other, real players! They even have an app!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, and I hope no one was out of character! Have a nice rest of the day, and please review! :)


End file.
